Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue its consultation paper on animal welfare legislation.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is today publishing its consultation "Proposals to revise existing animal welfare legislation". This is being placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 31992) and on the Scottish Executive website. It is being made widely available and we would encourage all organisations, business and individuals with an interest to respond.

Asthma

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the implementation of personal health plans, referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland , in light of the recent global initiative for asthma report that indicated that Scotland has the highest prevalence of asthma in the world and recent evidence indicating that personal health plans are the most effective non-drug method of controlling asthma.

Mr Tom McCabe: The global initiative for asthma study is not due to be published until 4 May 2004, and it would not be appropriate for the Executive to comment on it until it has been possible to make an assessment of its methodology and conclusions.

  It is expected that the strategy for developing and piloting personal health plans will be developed by summer 2004. The strategy will take into account and learn from the extensive range of existing health plans that have already been developed, mainly for specific diseases. For example, in January 2003 the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published recommendations for the effective management of patients with asthma. The recommendations included the use of personal health plans and a specific reference to material produced by the National Asthma Campaign.

Buildings

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government in respect of the Sustainable Buildings Task Group.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: None.

Civil Service

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions private recruitment agencies have been engaged in respect of the recruitment and selection of individuals for posts in the civil service in each of the last four years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has in place contracts relating to the recruitment and selection of both temporary and permanent staff. All contracts were let through a competitive tendering process.

  In relation to temporary staff, the Scottish Executive has in place two contracts. There is a contract with Pertemps for the provision of admin and clerical (Scottish Executive grades A1 and A3) and junior managerial (Scottish Executive grade B1) staff. This contract was originally let to Pertemps in February 2000 following a competitive tendering process. Pertemps were successful in retaining the contract following a further competitive tendering process in February 2003. There is also a contract for the provision of interim managers (at, or around, Scottish Executive grade C1) let to Hays Personnel. This contract was let through a competitive tendering process in November 2003.

  Occasional ad hoc arrangements are also made to engage temporary staff at these levels for example through other agencies for locations outside Edinburgh and Glasgow where the current contractor does not have a business presence. Information relating to this is not held centrally. These contracts cover all Scottish Executive departments.

  In relation to permanent staff, the Scottish Executive has a contract with Capita for the provision of recruitment services. This includes the design and delivery of assessment centres and other selection tools and covers all levels of staff. Capita are involved in the recruitment and selection of generalist staff at all levels and have also been involved in recruitment and selection for certain senior specialist and professional posts. This contract was originally let to Capita in January 2000 following a competitive tendering process. Capita were successful in retaining the contract following a further competitive tendering process in January 2004. This contract covers all Scottish Executive departments.

  In relation to Senior Civil Service staff, a call-off contract exists for the provision of executive search and selection services. The three participating contractors are Munro Consulting, Thomson Partners and Odgers Ray & Berndtson. This contract was let through a competitive tendering process in August 2001. Prior to this Thomson Partners had been used on occasional ad hoc basis. This contract covers all Scottish Executive departments.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) procurators fiscal, (b) precognition officers, (c) administrative staff and (d) policy staff have been employed in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in each year since 1999 and how they are distributed across Scotland.

Colin Boyd QC: The functional split of staff is provided in the table:

  

 

1/4/99

1/4/00

1/4/01

1/4/02

1/4/03

1/3/04


Legal Staff (inc. trainees)


302

319.4

350.7

367.4

402.4

426.8



Administrative staff

680.4

711.5

719.8

759

853.1

882.5



Precognition Officer (PO)

83.4

85.7

91.5

103.6

103.1

113.8



Policy staff (legal & trainees)

*

*

*

14.6

12

12



Policy staff (administrative)

*

*

*

7.1

7.1

10.6



Permanent Staff Total

1065.8

1116.6

1162

1251.7

1377.7

1445.7



  Note:

  *Prior to 2002 the figures for Policy staff were recorded within the cumulative total and are therefore not recorded separately.

  The distribution of staff as at 1 March 2004 is as follows:

  

 

Legal Staff

Administrative Staff

Precognition Officer

Total



Grampian

29

34.8

6

69.8



Highland and Islands

16

26.3

2

44.3



Central

16

36.5

7

59.5



Tayside

29

47.5

7.4

83.9



Fife

19.2

34.6

4

57.8



Lothian and Borders

55.6

110.7

12.3

178.6



Argyll and Clyde

37.2

60.7

9.4

107.3



Ayrshire

22.2

36.4

6.3

64.9



Dumfries and Galloway

10

17.6

1

28.6



Lanarkshire

45.1

74.9

8

128



Glasgow

88

174

45.4

307.4



High Court, Edinburgh

1

2

-

3



High Court, Glasgow

3

11

2

16



VIA*

-

45.7

-

45.7



Crown Office (including new Criminal Confiscation Unit and Civil Recovery Unit)

67.5

180.4

3

250.9



Totals

438.8

893.1

113.8

1445.7



  Note:

  *VIA has staff located in Aberdeen, Airdrie, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hamilton, Inverness, Kirkcaldy, Paisley, Stirling and Kilmarnock.

  Figures in both tables are calculated on a full time equivalent basis and do not include staff on unpaid leave (including unpaid sick and maternity), career break, secondments out of the Department or casual staff.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general dental practitioners have stopped accepting new NHS registrations in each of the last three years, expressed also as a percentage of all practitioners.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.

Economy

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide information on its performance against the targets published in Draft Budget 2004-05.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is today publishing an Annual Evaluation Report which replaces the old Annual Expenditure Report and launches Stage 1 of the 2005-06 budget process.

  The Executive has changed the name and format of its Stage 1 Budget document as a result of discussions with the Finance Committee of the Parliament. The Annual Evaluation Report provides information about the Executive's performance against the targets published in Draft Budget 2004-05, as well as providing outline information about the Executive's spending plans for 2005-06. I hope that the new document will meet the expectations and requirements of the Finance Committee, and that it will assist public and parliamentary scrutiny of the Executive's budget.

Electricity

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Her Majesty's Government and Ofgem in respect of the impact of the establishment of a competitive market for three-rate electricity customers using remotely-controlled electricity meters.

Lewis Macdonald: Although the regulation of the electricity sector is a reserved matter, we are keeping in touch with Ofgem about the action that they are taking to facilitate competition for customers with three-rate tariffs.

Equal Opportunities

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what performance indicators exist for monitoring the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people as users and staff of public services; which public bodies have developed, or are developing, such indicators, and how information on any existing indicators is disseminated.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Health Department has funded Stonewall Scotland to manage an LGBT inclusion in health project to research and develop a mainstreamed approach to the effective inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in health planning and services. As part of this research, information on LGBT service users and staff was collated and analysed as part of the reports Towards a Healthier LGBT Scotland (Bib. number. 31922) and LGBT Stocktake Exercise: Analysis of Responses (Bib. number 31923). These reports have been distributed to the NHS, equality bodies and patient groups across Scotland. They are also available at www.lgbthealthscotland.org.uk .

  The Executive is looking at these reports and considering how the approaches used might be applied to other relevant public services.

Justice

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered increasing the minimum age at which a person can purchase alcohol from an off-licence from 18 to 21.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has no plans to raise the minimum age for purchasing alcohol from an off-licence. Ministers are considering the regulation of off-licences following the report of the working group on off-sales in the community and will respond to that report and to the Nicholson Committee's Review of Liquor Licensing in Scotland in due course.

  We understand that in some areas, for example in Aberdeen, voluntary arrangements have been piloted with off-licences which include a minimum age of 21 for purchases of alcohol.

National Health Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants were employed in the NHS in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on staff in post in NHSScotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

  Sections A and B give details of consultants employed in NHSScotland in each year since 1993, broken down by NHS board area. Figures are presented as headcount or whole time equivalent.

Pharmacies

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations exist in respect of the provision of late night chemists; what strategy exists to ensure that such facilities are accessible and central, and how many such chemists there are in the city of Edinburgh.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards are required, under the terms of the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations, to arrange that one or more community pharmacies in their area be open "at all reasonable times". The days and times of "out of hours" opening must be specified in respect of each participating pharmacy. Arrangements must also be made for urgently required prescriptions to be dispensed outwith the specified hours.

  Since 1999 the provision of out-of-hours community pharmacy services has been a matter for local negotiation between each NHS board and its area pharmaceutical committee. Information about the arrangements currently in place in the Edinburgh area will be available from NHS Lothian.

Pharmacists

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to permit pharmacists to claim a fee for not dispensing prescriptions after exercising professional judgement, as is the case in the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Tom McCabe: Remuneration arrangements for community pharmacists, including the question of "non-dispensing" fees, are being considered as part of the on-going discussions with the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council on the new community pharmacy contract. To date no decisions have been made.

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations it will consult in respect of the proposed Planning Bill.

Ms Margaret Curran: Consultations on planning issues are sent to a wide range of interested organisations and individuals, and they are also placed on the Executive's website. A typical consultation will involve us sending out 600 printed copies and 635 email alerts, though for the forthcoming consultation on appeals we intend to send out about 2,000 printed copies. In line with the Executive's best practice on consultations, a list of the organisations to whom the consultation paper has been sent is included in the paper.

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a consultation document on the proposed Planning Bill.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale will be for the consultation process in respect of the proposed Planning Bill.

Ms Margaret Curran: We have already consulted on several major issues which are likely to be included in a Planning Bill later this session. These include the modernisation of the development planning system as set out in our 2002 document Review of Strategic Planning – Conclusions and Next Steps and public involvement in planning as set out in the 2003 White Paper Your Place, Your Plan .

  We will shortly be consulting on appeals in planning and the implementation of changes to the development planning system, and further consultations are likely to be held on other issues which may be included in a Planning Bill.

Regulation of Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 - Regulation of Care Services by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. Proposals for Maximum Fees to be set by Scottish ministers for 2004-05: Consultation paper, what information it has on the number and location of "smaller providers" of care homes, in particular care homes for elderly people, that may have to close as a consequence of the fee levy to fund the Care Commission; what information it has on the number and location of elderly people who may require to be relocated as a consequence of such closures, and where such people will be relocated.

Mr Tom McCabe: No information is held on this. There is no evidence to suggest that care homes may have to close as a result of fee increases and it would be wrong to speculate.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with respect to consultations on the section 36 consents process.

Lewis Macdonald: I expect to announce the launch of this consultation within the next two months.